Introduction:

Of all the frontline aspirants who contested to govern Abia State in 2023, the present governor of the state who won on the platform of Labour party has been most consistent in seeking this office over the years.

For the sake of context for our readers who are not originally from Abia State or those who are from the state but not well grounded in the politics of the state, it is worthy to note that Dr. Alex Otti was among the top names speculated to take over political power from the now aged Senator Theodore Ahamefule Orji from Ibeku axis of Umuahia who reigned supreme as the governor then.

This background is aimed at letting you know that for a man whom ab initio made attempts to fly the flag of People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in that 2015 gubernatorial election but was schemed out, after which he later joined All progressive grand alliance (APGA) to contest the election in that year, he is definitely a force to reckon with in the state politics and is expected to have been well prepared for the task ahead. Some of us are not surprised at his marginal improvements in governance when compared to where we are coming from as a people.

As a seasoned banker who had seen it all in the banking world, Dr. Alex Otti did not give up on his dream to govern Abia state yet, and this was what made him still contest in 2019 on the platform of APGA, in which he still lost to Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu of the PDP.

After a not too excellent second tenure of Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu of the PDP by the assessment of most indicators of governance, Dr. Alex Otti leveraged on every available weakness of that administration, amplified it for all to see just like every seasoned politician would do and smartly made himself the most credible option for Abia voters in that election. He was chosen by Abia electorates in that election as he clinched power at the end of the day, after a keenly contested election.

It would be uncharitable not to acknowledge that the inability of the PDP to internally handle its issues and provide firm leadership was one of the weakest links of that era which Dr. Alex Otti who had moved to Labour party for that election exploited to make his dream of governing Abia state a reality. In all of that, Abia people were largely happy when the result of that election was declared especially the ordinary voters without political interests. To them, a new sherriff was in town and was about to birth the dawn of a new era.

The Pharoah days in Abia State:

One thing that we cannot wish away is that between the year 2004 till very recently in the state of Abia, the state’s political leadership has consistently been one which has always seemed to lack ambitions to deliver the real dividends of democracy to the people. The PDP got its very smeared image in the state in that era.

While we may claim to be practicing democracy in Nigeria, we all know that all efforts made by the masses during that era to revolt at the polling booths with their votes during elections was made a mess of by the political class.

During that not quite excellent era it didn’t matter how angry the masses were, it also didn’t matter how much they wanted a more competent leader to come in and lead ndi Abia out of the woods. The masses during those elections were confronted with superior manipulation skills deployed by most of the “stakeholders” who knew what to do during elections to win such elections even if the performance of the people seeking power was woeful and lacking in quality. Ndi Abia was at the mercy of nde apata ukwu and mean stakeholders.

During that era, these stakeholders who knew what to do to hold onto power during elections were literarily more useful to the political gladiators than the masses, because the major reason the masses’ support was even courted during that era was to legitimize whatever heist they had planned to execute during the elections to secure their victory after which aggrieved parties were admonished to go to court.

Fast forward to 2023, there was a clear clash of interest among these stakeholders/political gladiators which the present government exploited in its own interest to clinch power. This explains why it is being loosely said that this particular government in Abia state has no godfather.

How Dr. Alex Otti manages the interest of these stakeholders who were recruited pre 2023 to prosecute the elections would have a great effect on the re-election bid of the governor.

This is `simply because the fall out of the 2023 PDP crisis made it possible for the aggrieved stakeholders to move and anchor with the Labour party while the others who were optimistic of a miraculous outing at the election stayed on with the PDP.

While we must acknowledge that there were so many issues with the past political era in Abia state which on no account should be condoned in the present, we must also be bold to own up to the fact that in some aspects these past political office holders did somethings right too.

With the explanations reeled out, it is clear that there is no reason whatsoever why Abians should condone any Pharoah-like disposition in this administration by the New Abia Team, it doesn’t matter whoever sanctions such actions.

Areas of strength of the Dr. Alex Otti’s administration:

Owing to the weakness of the immediate past PDP era in the state, Dr. Alex Otti seems to have understood that in the business of governance, perception is a currency that no serious leader jokes with. This explains why it is important to the governor that he is seen to be in charge at all times in the state serving ndi Abia with all they have got and that he has done so well, so far. We must acknowledge this fact.

It is beautiful to see that he has deliberately reigned in his political associates in the state overtime and as such we seem to no longer have an era where anyone who feels he has access to the governor goes around the state causing unnecessary nuisance. This is indeed a departure from our past years when people acted without decorum because of the access they had.

The cleanliness of the state as a top priority is now yielding a lot of results as most parts of the state capital – Umuahia and south-eastern Nigeria’s largest commercial city – Aba are now sparkling, a sharp departure from the past. We hope to have the state process these wastes further into more useful products in 2025 and beyond. “From waste to wealth agenda” for the state would not be a bad idea.

The road projects like the Port Harcourt Road, the expansion of the tower road that leads into the state capital, the reconstruction of some roads that have been abandoned for a minimum of 10 years and the many other road projects that have been commenced within the state which would grant better access to the rural communities in the state must be commended also.

The now prompt payment of salaries, pensions although there are still a lot of promises by the governor to be fulfilled as there is no mention of gratuity, are great improvements although that we are aware that the improved revenue to states from the federal government has also played a great role in it. We hope to have civil servants benefit from these increased allocations to the state in ways that would make them smile like their counterparts in other states. It nonetheless hurts that as of today being the 14^th of January 2025, some pensioners are yet to get their pension payment.

When it comes to saying the right things that the masses want to hear at the right times irrespective of if they are delivered upon promptly or not, this regime in the state is skilled at it and that is also part of the reasons why the government has a high rating before ndi Abia and social media community.     

With the lessons that Dr. Alex Otti must have picked from the mistakes of his predecessors, one can argue that the state is in a seeming relatively better leadership dynamic although it also hurts that we still see the flashes of a typical Nigerian politician around some of the engagements of Mr. Governor.

Weak links of the Dr. Alex Otti’s administration:

For those wilderness years of Dr. Alex Otti while he was in opposition in the state (2015 – 2023) one thing you cannot take away from him and his team was the quality of accountability, transparency steamy heat that they consistently douched Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu’s administration with.

During that era, the opposition coalition ably led by Dr. Alex Otti through the services of very young, ambitious, brilliant, impressionable and in some cases very desperate youths which he employed to do the job consistently furnished the Abia electorates with everything that was wrong with the state at the time under that leadership.

These areas of criticism for the past government ranged from the promises made by the then government that were not fulfilled, to projects executed by the government that were of low quality, poor sanitation condition of the state, down to how any part of Aba was flooded at the time especially Faulks road, to amplifying any Freudian slip by the then Governor, to lack of payment of salaries, then to lack of transparency in any financial dealing of the government and just so many more, the list was endless. The opposition in that era was active.

The media machine of the opposition in that era was on turbo charged V8 engine which was one of the reasons ndi Abia decided that ozoemena. That was the tempo they went into the 2023 elections with. Dr. Alex Otti and his team primed the Abia electorates with an excess dosage of anger which he harnessed from the poor governance indices of the state then.

For any political conscious Abian or observer of Abia politics, the high points of Dr. Alex Otti’s opposition era was that he and his team always offered solutions online to those myriads of challenges facing the Abia people then, promising to do things entirely different if elected to office.

While we acknowledge that there are some areas that the governor and his team are doing exceptionally well in the state, there are a whole lot more areas that the governor should sincerely look into to address. Some of them are;

• State sanctioned use of blackmail by some aides of the governor to intimidate citizens demanding for transparency, accountability and good governance.

Lately, some consistent fiercely vocal critics of the past governments in Abia state who were once hailed to high heavens by the present government in the state while they were in opposition, for holding the government of the day accountable are now being stirred by these same people they once saw as fellow comrades in the fight of a new Abia.

It is disgusting to say the least that the same questions which were asked the previous government which centered on what they were using our funds for at the time can no longer be tolerated by the government of the day.

While we expect Dr. Alex Otti’s government to set an unmatched precedence in terms of transparency and accountability when it comes to the use of public funds, we now have aides whose job description is to call citizens names, blackmail them and impugn the characters of these citizens for asking for accountability from the government of the day.

While we are excited that there is a seeming departure from the way governance had been done in the state in the past where every tom and dick who had access to the past governors were Lords onto themselves, we must state it very clearly to the governor and his team that the resources used to carry out these projects belong to ndi Abia and as such when ndi Abia ask for details on how these funds are used irrespective of political leaning and party affiliations, what you owe them is clear cut answers and not blackmails of all sorts to divert attention.

Abia state belongs to all of its citizens and residents. Fortunately, the maximum you can rule the state as a governor is eight years at best and a minimum of four (4) years, with how the Nigerian state is skewed at the moment. The question is, what happens at the end of the day when you leave office Sir as it pertains to accountability?

• Waste of taxpayer’s money for flag off of projects

While we are aware that there is a huge improvement in the volume of revenue gotten by the states from the federal government since oil subsidy was removed, such resources which even if in excess should be deployed to more meaningful projects which would serve the masses.

The healthcare, agriculture and educational sectors in Abia state are verifiably not in any shape or form close to what they should be. While we commend the governor and his team for publicly declaring free education for all across the state, we must be deliberate about the quality of the school infrastructure and the teachers who ought to impact this knowledge into the children.

We know from our interactions with these stakeholders in the academic sector that a lot more has to be done to make the process worth it on the long run which would definitely rub off on the quality of our children.

The health sector is definitely not anywhere close to where we want it to be in the state. Instead of wasting funds on needless flag off ceremonies, the state government should rather save up these funds to invest in projects that would be useful to ndi Abia. It would not be out of place to have our Governor, political aides, local government chairman and their likes use the same state-owned medical facilities as the citizens or residents of the state.

• Vendetta on the previous government led by Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu of the PDP

Owing to the political dynamics that played out in 2015, there is obviously every form of love lost between Dr. Alex Otti and his predecessor. This is an open secret which is known to every member of the state. However, what we find quite nauseating is that this friction which is as a result of political interest seems to be the reason why projects which ought to be beneficial to ndi Abia are locked up and allowed to rot away as these structures built with task payer’s money lie to waste eg. Remodeled Aba General hospital, Enyimba Shoe factory etc.

In governance of Abia state, elected political office holders own nothing when it comes to projects executed with taxpayers’ money. That is also why we feel that it is silly and dumb for people to engage in roadside talks of who owns a project being executed with the people’s resources. These projects are owned by ndi Abia and should be made available to ndi Abia for use.

Dr. Alex Otti must move firmly beyond raw emotions to work for Abians beyond the much he is doing at the moment and if it involves building on foundations built by his predecessor then so be it. All the masses need is a state that works for all without due course to who started a project or not.

Dr. Alex Otti and his team members cannot continue to act in a manner that makes it look as if he is worried about any form of credit being given to his predecessor for a job done by the present government. People would talk and push conversations that suit their various bias but what should always count should be the quality of service being rendered to ndi Abia by this government.

• The quest for positive media engagements over getting the real job done

Only a very sad commentator would turn a blind eye to some of the positives being recorded in the state at the moment by Dr. Alex Otti led government. Beyond the successes of this government, we have watched by the side-line to observe how there has been some sorts of deliberate manipulation of the media to push narratives that put the government in excellent light beyond what is being done. Positive media reviews are good but there is a lot of danger in allowing traditional sycophants to derail the trajectory of governance in the state with lies being told to paint a picture that is not yet our full reality in the state.

This ranges from the media propaganda that once claimed that Abia state government was about to start off the building of a seaport, intra state railway, Aba industrial innovation park, Abia Medical City, Nsulu film village, Umuahia mega bus terminal, as the list goes on. While these aspirations are very good, laudable and would be of great effect to the economy of the state if implemented, we must let Mr. Governor understand that it robs them of so much credibility when after a year or two of such media launching, nothing is seen to have tangibly happened on ground.

Media engagement is good and should be cherished but then there should be some forms of restraints while deploying this option so as not to be confronted with a long list of projects that never saw the light of the day in the years to come.

• The temptation to tag every critical citizen an opposition member.

During the state elections, it is expected that everyone would not support the same candidate. The attitude by some of your aides to label people who did not support your candidacy in the election, who are asking for things to be done better bitter opposition members is laughable.

However, one of the things we must accept is that not everyone would support the government by always saying what soothes the ears of those in power, some would support the government by objectively criticizing the actions of the government and saying those truths the lackeys of the government cannot say.

Whenever issues worth attending to are raised, we expect the government in power to make positive adjustments in the interest of the governed and its reputation.

Path to progress for ndi Abia:

A prosperous state of Abia is a priority for any sane citizen irrespective of who is in charge of the state. This explains in very clear terms why despite the darts and blackmails that are heaped on people who speak the truth to power, we would continue to do our best to let the governor understand that no matter how the professional sycophants try to paint that these opinions do not matter, we would always remind him that these points raised would be the yardsticks with which he would be judged when he is out of office.

We are well aware that if a gubernatorial election is conducted today in Abia state, the odds are most likely going to be in the favor of the incumbent, but this does not mean that the pressing issues in the state that pertains to the welfare of citizens have been all sorted out.

The areas of education, health, security, agriculture and infrastructure deserve all the attention they can get.

These litanies of opportunists mobbing you with talks of how your second tenure is assured is diversionary. While most of them are in dire need of political relevance, some others are trying to use their access to you to position themselves for the days ahead as exceptional people, please endeavor to ward them off and get to the grind for ndi Abia.

In the year 2025 and beyond we wish to see you address these areas of the economy mentioned above, we wish to have the cost of the projects done in Abia state published, the scope of such projects and the people handling such projects without the masses putting pressure on your team. The opaque disposition towards these projects should forthwith be stopped and a better order of transparency and accountability explored.

Finally, as for your aides whose job description looks more like the deployment of dark blackmail and propaganda to shut up citizens who sincerely ask for good governance, this approach would no longer work in this dispensation because there would be a lot more people to blackmail in the days to come. Deliver impeccable governance to the people of Abia state, that way your second tenure is secured. We wish to see a prosperous and well led Abia in this year of the Lord.

Dr. Alex Otti, you have our best regards but please we beg of you, do not take us back to Egypt at the instance of your sycophants who don’t ever mean well for you but their stomachs only. You are loved!